A Three Houses Tale: Claude & Byleth's Story
by VelvetTheCrowe
Summary: This is a Fire Emblem: Three Houses story based on the Golden Deer Route and a Claude x Female Byleth S support relationship. Contains end game spoilers! Rated M for violence. This is the tale you didn't see of Claude and Byleth's love and their creation of a new Fodlan.


Spoilers! This story takes place after the completion of the Golden Deer House story, with a female Byleth and Claude at S support. Do not read if you don't want the game or support story spoiled!

A/N: This is an extension of the story. Please review if you like!

Disclaimer: I do not own or have any rights to Fire Emblem: Three Houses characters, plot, or content.

The day was bright and warm and peaceful yet Byleth couldn't help but feel anxious. She couldn't describe it but something inside her knew that a wrongness was coming. Maybe it was Sothis inside of her warning of the dangers to come. Regardless, Byleth didn't listen to her gut that day - she told herself over and over that she was being paranoid.

It's been almost a year since Byleth took over, becoming queen to a once divided land. The former kingdom, former empire, and former Alliance were all under her domain yet she wanted none of it. She didn't want to be queen, to have power, to rule. She just wanted to live a quiet life protecting the ones she loved, living out her days with Claude. So she worked to develop a new system - destroying the old world order to replace it with a new one. Byleth would create a system where the people, no longer commoners and nobles but now one people, would rule themselves. They would decide their own rules and rulers. The church would no longer have control over the land, much to Seteth's dismay. Instead, the people would choose their own religion. This would become a land of freedom.

Byleth sighed. It seemed as if it would be a lifetime before any of these systems came to fruition and until then, she was utterly stuck as a ruler she didn't want to be, in a place she didn't want to be. Byleth recalled the day Claude left as she stared longingly out the Church's window. When he told her she would rule alone, her dreams for the near future shattered. After the war, Byleth was going to ask Claude to live a different life with her - one without ruling, one where they could live happily together in a modest house in a small village. But Claude was never going to live that life - he felt an obligation to the people to make their lives better. It was something she loved about him almost as much as she hated it.

Instead, he asked her to rule this country while he left her. His goal to take rule of Almyra was part of his bigger plan of unifying the world to celebrate people's differences. She wanted him to acheive those goals. So she agreed. But deep down she wanted to be selfish. She wanted to be with the man she loved right here and now. This was the first time Byleth ever remembered wanting anything in this selfish way. Jeralt would be so proud to see her being so utterly human.

"He promised me. He promised he would be back. That when he did, we would finally be together. I just have to be patient and protect this country which is so dear to him," Byleth said aloud to herself. This was her mantra these days. It served to remind her why she trudged through the overbearing expectations the whole country had for her, day in and day out. Though as more time passed, with not even a letter from Claude in Almyra, this weight became harder to bear. She felt herself cracking under the pressure of it all. "If only I could go back to being a mercenary. Such a simpler time..." Byleth thought whistfully.

Seteth knocked on the door. "Lady Rhe...Lady Byleth. It's time for counsel." Byleth sighed. Seteth had a hard time with Byleth occupying Rhea's old room. Even though he was the one who insisted upon it. Byleth stood and shook off her doubts before emerging from the room as the strong leader Fodlan required.

Byleth walked with Seteth out of the cathedrals doors into the town that once was Garag Mach Monastery but was now known as Sothisia. The monestary was no longer affiliated with the Church of Seiros. Only the Cathedral belonged to Seiros where the rest of Sothisia was a hodgepodge town filled with old Kingdom, Empire, and Alliance leaders who were willing to work with Byleth to make a new society. Old classrooms were now council rooms and offices. Old student dormitories became housing units for the new world leaders. The marketplace grew to twice its original size and sponsored trade with people from all over Fodlan. No longer was there any sign of the Black Eagles, the Blue Lions, or the Golden Deers. Such symbols gathered dusts in old closets while the old class crests were painted over and emblazoned with the crest of Fodlan's New World Order - a peaceful forest scene with no eagles or deers or lions in sight.

This sustainable town was Byleth's first creation in the New World, driven partly by a desire use Garag Mach's pivotal location to spur a change that would spread outward and driven partly by a sadness. Byleth struggled greatly living in the bounds of the monastery while all the people who made her life fun and vibrant, especially Claude, were no longer there. It was better this way. Byleth could finally walk around town without seeing the ghosts of people who once were or still are but are no longer around. Byleth walked to the new path that led behind the greenhouse and to the construction of the new Temple of the Forest, a religious house very different from the Church of Seiros.

Seteth grew stiff at the sight of the nearly completed temple. Byleth knew how much he hated this all - the new town that took over the monastery, the addition of new churches and of different religions, the remodeling of the social order. It all made him cringe. He hated everything she was doing and felt like Byleth was betraying the very nature of Seiros herself. But she also knew he remained loyal and helpful out of respect for Rhea, who left the Church's fate in my hands. He wouldn't understand so she never explained how she didn't want to destroy the church, just separate it from its political power so it could once again be a religion to believe in.

The construction of the new temple and the future construction of other religious institutions was designed to send a message to Fodlan. A message Claude would aprove of - we are all allowed to be different, to believe in different things, but we are all united. Though Byleth encouraged these developments they weren't by her design alone. The council had voted on and passed its decisions on the construction of Sothisia at every step of the way. Byleth was only a few feet from another council meeting when a rushed knight grabbed Byleth's arm and screamed, "They're back!"

Byleth stood in front of thousands of soldiers, townspeople, leaders, and merchants. Despite the large crowd, the arena was silent as everyoneawaited Byleth's speech. She took a deep breath, steeled her eyes, and began.

"Those who slither in the dark and the old imperial forces still insist on clinging onto outdated and power hungry ideas. They wish to take what we have already built and dismantle it. They wish to destroy our hard work and crush our ideals of a new and better world. They may strive to do so but they will NOT succeed. We have fought so hard for peace and we will not give it up for their selfish wants. So if you like what we are building, if you believe the old ways didn't work, and if you believe that we fight for the overall good, pick up your sword, lance, axe, or bow and follow me. We will meet them in battle to protect what we love! We will fight for against the old and malfunctioning to make a new and amazing future!", Byleth said with more strength conveyed in her voice than she actually had left in her body.

The crowd roared in delight and agreement. Days later, almost every attendee showed up at Derdriu, where Byleth planned to meet the rebel forces head on. Though her army was large, filled with novices and soldiers alike, it was dwarfed by the old Imperial and Dark units combined. When she realized this, Byleth realized the great mistake she made. She gave these people hope - stupid, blinding hope - when the odds were so stacked against them.

Byleth longed for a comrade in this fight - Hilda or Raphael or Leonie perhaps. She wish there was someone she could trust to have her back as she ran into this risky and likely doomed battle. She looked around to see the determined faces of her fellow fighters and settled on trusting them with her life. "I might die today," she whispered so no one could hear. "But if I do, may Claude still reach his goal. May he know I tried my hardest to protect his dream," Byleth wished upon the ring he gave her before she left. With that, she lifted the Sword of the Creator into the air and screamed a battle cry so fierce it was heard for a mile around.

They had been fighting for hours now. Even the healers look exhausted. There were casualties of course, more than Byleth could stand to think about. But regardless she still had a surprising amount of her army alive and fighting with all they had. Byleth herself was taking on 5 enemies at a time, trying to draw as much attention away from her fellow fighters as possible. Those who slither in the dark proved easier to defeat than the Imperial forces. The Dark army was highly distracted by the presence of the sun which made many of them fall within the first hour. Unfortunately though, those left seemed positively unfazed.

We're not going to make it, thought Byleth. This is it. I tried. I put so much effort into building a new, fair world. I did this all without even wanting to. But it's come to an end. I'll die here. And so will most of these people who believe so deeply in me. Their faith in me was misplaced. I'm no leader and even though Sothis lives within me, I'm no goddess. I'm just a mercenary who will fall in battle today. Byleth sighed.

It was then she heard a cry ring out - but not one of pain that comes with death. It was a cry of anticipation for battle, hope for victory, and confidence in their ability. Byleth looked around frantically for the source of such a cry. There, on the horizon to her left, was the shadowed outline of an army against the now red sky. She couldn't make out their armor or their crests. Byleth felt a sudden sense of dread. Are they reinforcements for the rebels?! We can't handle this! Byleth thought.

The shadowed army starting running towards the battlefield but Byleth couldn't watch any longer as an axed rebel began swinging at her. She decided that she had already accepted death, but she would go down fighting. So Byleth decided to ignore the shadow army and focus on her fight. She took out the axeman only to be surrounded by a bow, lance, and 2 sword rebels. As the lance jabbed towards Byleth, a great shadow flew overhead and before she noticed it, the lanced rebel fell over, with a bow's arrow sticking from his chest.

Byleth looked up to see a beautiful white wyvern. "Hey there, my friend. You seem to be in a bit of trouble." Byleth instantly recognized that voice as Claude's. She broke out into a smile, feeling instant relief. There, astride the white wyvern was Claude, not so different from the day she last saw him except for the gold crown sitting crookedly on his head. "You did it?" Byleth asked as she took out the bow, who posed the greatest threat to Claude. Claude shot an arrow at a swordsman as he said confidently, "Of course I did". "You came back?", Byleth asked in disbelief while fighting off another swordsman. Claude jumped off his wyvern and came over to her, shooting 3 or 4 rebels along the way. When her foe fell and a slight break in enemies appeared, Claude grabbed Byleth's face and placed his forehead against hers. "Of course I did. I told you that I'd come back. I told you I wouldn't let you go," he breathed. All the fear, uncertainty, and doubt she had felt over the last year melted away. Everything was okay again because Claude was here.

"I tried so hard to make your dream come true," Byleth said. Claude laughed. "I know, you did great. So let's get rid of these guys so I can see what the new Fodlan is like." With that, the two turned back to the war around them. Claude's reinforcements definitely gave Byleth's army a fighting chance. But the odds still seemed uncertain.

That's when Hilda's axe came down on the head of one of Byleth's foes. "Hey there, Teach! Sorry we're late. Our invitation to this party seemed to get lost in the mail!", she greeted Byleth. Byleth looked around to see all her old Golden Deer's behind Hilda - Marianne, Raphael, and Ignatz were already deep into the fight. "How?", Byleth asked. Lysithia appeared to explain that Hilda flew her wyvern all over Fodlan to collect the old class and bring ghem here. "Thank you", Byleth said to all her old students.

With these new reinforcements, the tides of war finally turned in Byleth's favor. Within another 2 hours, the last of the rebels fell. Byleth's forces were victorious and began the long treck back to Sothisia, with Claude's Almyran forces and the Golden Deer house in tow.


End file.
